Fame Addiction
by Shadow.of.Illusion
Summary: Young, hot-shot reporter Sakura Haruno plans on making it big and doing it soon. The only thing that can boost her career is the biggest name in the acting world—Kakashi Hatake. Can she score an interview with the elusive actor? Eventual KakaxSaku.
1. Dream Big and Aim Higher

**: Fame Addiction :**

by ShadowofIllusion

**Summary:** Young, hot-shot reporter Sakura Haruno plans on making it big and doing it soon. The only thing that can get her on the "Ace Reporters" list pronto is the biggest name in the acting world—Kakashi Hatake. The secrets and mysteries surrounding the man could fill the Grand Canyon to the brim. If she could get the scoop on him, fame would be handed to her on a silver platter. The only question that remains is—can she manage to get info on the man that has led the entire news media around by the nose for years?

**Disclaimer:** If I happened to own Naruto, do you think I'd still be writing fanfiction?? ...Well, I probably would, but that's beside the point.

**WARNING!:** Language. And... T rated stuff. Later.

**Brief A/N:** The song that probably helped to inspire this was David Cook's _Kiss on the Neck_. Go figure... as it really has nothing to do with the story. In any case, I've been itching to try an AU setting, so here's my attempt at it. If anyone's OOC, PLEASE tell me. I do NOT want them to be, so I _will_ fix it. Or, at least, try to.

* * *

**: Dream Big and Aim Higher :**

_To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. ~Anatole France_

Coffee was perhaps the most addictive thing in existence, Sakura thought to herself as she considered the steaming, dark, aromatic liquid in her mug. Her live-in boyfriend would have to come second this morning to the energy-inducing drink. Her green eyes slid over to where he lay on the couch, his body mostly covered by the blanket she had draped over him earlier that morning. It was a good gesture on her part, especially considering it was his fault that they had ended up sleeping on the couch, and why her spine felt like it had been shot nine ways to hell.

So much for the wonderful effects being young supposedly produced. She grimaced as she tried to settle herself more comfortably in her chair, a newspaper crinkling plaintively in her hand at the action. Fortunately, her job did not start until the evening. Night life scenes always created the juiciest topics to write about.

She sipped at the coffee, eyes scanning the various columns with a critical eye. Nothing much to report, the usual 'who's doing who when they're not supposed to' and the 'break-ups/make-ups' filled with the same stars they had been covering the entire past month. As she moved on to the next page, a name caught her gaze. "Someone new?" Nope, _but_... she grinned as she read, this could be her ticket out of the drivel she currently had to keep up with.

'_Kakashi Hatake stars in new historical drama, _Until Death_, alongside well-known and loved figures such as Kurenai Yuhi, Neji Hyuuga,..._' the following actors either were not worth reading about, or she had already covered them. She giggled lightly as she reached for a pen from a nearby container full of writing instruments. Circling the man's name with a neon pink gel pen, Sakura grinned down at it.

"_Helloooo_, Mr. Hatake. We're going to be _best_ friends soon."

—**xoxo**

Elsewhere, Kakashi found himself trying to restrain a violent sneeze.

"Are you listening to me, Hatake?" His manager, a rather striking woman who claimed to be twenty-five despite his knowing her to be closer to forty, glared down her nose at his lazy form currently occupying her favorite chair.

Red hair would have probably matched her fiery temper better than the natural golden blond that adorned her scalp, in Kakashi's private opinion.

He hummed in agreement, trying to figure out what he had done now. "I know you love to toy with the press, but we need to give them something to munch on!" Amber eyes flashed as she noticed his continued nonchalance at the whole proceeding. "Damn it, Hatake! If you didn't make so much money off that ridiculously gorgeous face of yours, I'd-"

Bored storm-gray orbs rose to meet hers, his typical messy arrangement of silver spikes (_that somehow managed to look styled rather than sloppy_) not hiding it well enough, "Rearrange it for me?"

"Damn straight!"

"Good thing I _do_ happen to make money off it," he chuckled. Wiping some of the 'I-don't-care' look from his face, he waited patiently for Tsunade to continue. While he would be the first to admit that he did have a certain fondness for ticking off his manager, he would also point out that he knew where to toe the line. Swearing on her part usually indicated that she was dangerously near to planting her well-manicured fist in his gut. (_Never his face, because it really was hard to hide that sort of damage._)

Tsunade's ample bosom heaved as she took in a deep breath, the forest green material of her tunic stretching to deal with the sudden expansion. Releasing it with an exaggerated sigh, she glared at her client. "I'm not asking you to suddenly feel the need to give them your deepest, darkest secret. And please don't. I'm not sure that the public could handle whatever mess you've got stored in that crazed head of yours." Ignoring Kakashi's affronted look, she reached for her briefcase and flicked the locks open. She pulled out a couple of sheets and held them out for his inspection.

"Just give them something to last them a couple months. That's all we need right now."

"What happened to the 'wonderful Hatake air of mystery'?" He quirked an eyebrow at his publicist.

"Yesterday's news," she snapped in reply.

"Hn..."

"Unless you want a myriad of rabid stalkers trying to get the latest scoop on you and paparazzi camped outside your doorstep, you'll consider it." She nearly did a victory dance at the horrified expression that crossed his face. There was no other way to motivate that man unless you hinted at some danger to his privacy.

"Alright, I'll look it over."

"Good, see you bright and early tomorrow morning." They both knew that he'd show up around noon despite her order, but it was still habit for the phrase to slip out. "Yeah, I'll see you."

—**xoxo**

Ino and Tenten stared at Sakura, blue and brown orbs equally mirroring their disbelief. "You're crazy," Ino finally stated, running her fingers through her long blond hair in bewilderment.

Tenten nodded, the neat buns on the sides of her head bobbing slightly with the movement. "Sorry, but I have to agree on this one. Why do you want this so badly?"

Sakura leveled a flat stare at her, "The same reason you want a date with Neji Hyuuga."

This statement caused both of the other women's jaws to drop. The roseate-haired woman flushed at her unconscious implication. "That's _not _what I meant!"

A coy smile curved the blond's lips. "Sure," she drawled. "If you're over Sasuke, I'll be _more _than happy to take him."

Tenten grinned as her friends locked glares. Before heated words could be exchanged, however, she butted in. Getting kicked out of a restaurant once for those two getting into it was once too many for her tastes. "So, what _did_ you mean?"

Sakura leaned forward conspiratorially, a devious glint in her eyes. "He's never had an exclusive interview before!" Blank stares met her excited revelation and she restrained the urge to groan. "Okay, it's like this—no one really knows what goes on up here," she pointed exaggeratedly to her head, "so if I can get him to do a one-on-one interview with me, I'll have done something no other person has been able to do! This will get me onto the 'Ace Reporters' list!"

"How're you going to do that?"

"Yeah, Forehead. Hate to break it to you, but from what I've read, Hatake really isn't the easiest nut to crack."

A smirk tilted her glossy lips up. "I've got it all covered."

—**xoxo**

"I quit!" A quick stream of Italian hit his ears in a furious rush, and, if Kakashi didn't know better, she was cursing him out. "This is the last time I work for actor! Very last!"

"What the-?" He jumped aside quickly as the heavy-set woman barreled into the hallway, a suitcase in each hand. "Hey, Rosa, what happened?"

She glared at him furiously, dark eyes sharp with anger. Setting down the suitcases, the woman marched up to him, nearly shaking with indignant wrath. "You!" She jabbed a slightly round finger into his chest. "You cannot even get my name right! It is Carmina! Car-mee-nah!"

Kakashi stared down at the infuriated woman, still clueless to why she was upset. "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry about that, Carmina."

"Complaining about this, complaining about that, and now he tells writer that he can't stand Italian cooking any more! Enough!" With the last outburst, she threw her meaty hands into the air in disgust. Stomping back to her suitcases, she marched on out the door, satisfying herself by slamming it in the process.

He stared after her, slightly bemused but mostly in total shock. What on earth...? The last time he spoke to a journalist was... nearly seven months ago. He sighed and rubbed at his face when the thought sank in. No wonder the media was after him. Not having done anything public for a while definitely backfired.

Still... he stared forlornly at the door. He absolutely adored Rosa, no, _Carmina's_ cooking. Her cleaning had been impeccable, and he had truly valued her services. He had not been stupid enough to complain about any of his hired help before, so what had caused _that_ to happen?

Shuffling back to his room, he was half-tempted to slam the door. Maybe Carmina had something going with that. With a hearty groan, he fell backwards onto the bed, pillows falling to the floor as the movement rocked the mattress. Kakashi studied the bland ceiling above his head in an effort to relax.

His cell phone chose that moment to vibrate in his back pocket. An annoying jingle soon followed. Kakashi glared at the innocent ceiling tiles as if they were culpable for his current misfortunes. There was only one person who would dare to call him at this hour.

Too bad answering was the only viable option.

He pulled out his cell and flipped it open in a single, practiced motion born from years of this sort of harassment. "Yo."

"Have you read through the papers?"

Kakashi hummed in response, eyeing said papers with a put-upon air. He had briefly flipped through them. Most contained various offers to have a Q&A with several well-known journalists, a few advertisements, plus one offer to have a collectible figurine made in his image. The last one was immediately thrown out. Women already collected enough of the crap they plastered his image across. Something like that gave him the shivers.

Now, if his favorite author decided to give him a starring role in one of his books—then he'd sign in a heartbeat.

"Hatake, are you listening to me?"

Uh-oh. Tuning out the manager probably wasn't the smartest thing to do at the moment. She did know where he lived after all.

"Yeah."

Tsunade tapped her fire-engine red nails against the dark wood of her desk, wishing she could strangle the obnoxious individual on the other end of the line. "_So?_"

"They want to make a _doll_ after me."

She chuckled at his disgusted tone. "Just another way to capitalize on you." At his silence, she prodded further. "You need to pick at least one offer. Preferably more than that, but one will let you get by for a little while longer."

A grunt was her reply. "Hey, you wanted to be in the limelight. Don't blame me."

Kakashi flipped through the papers absently. "Hn." Tossing the stack on his bed, he randomly pulled one from the cascading mess that ensued.

"Hmm... seems 'W' and 'Top Bachelors of 20--' magazines hit the jackpot."

Tsunade bit her tongue to keep her comment at bay. Random selection typically was not the best method for selecting an interview, but as long as he did something. "At least you picked some of the more widely read magazines." She tapped away on the keyboard to pull up some files she kept on them. "It'll work. I'll have Shizune contact them to confirm your acceptance."

"_Great_."

"Spare me your over-whelming enthusiasm." She paused, then began tapping her nails against the wood again, the steady staccato soothing in a fashion. "Hey, Kakashi."

"What?"

"_Please_ be a little more sociable with this. You need it, I need it, and it could impact your career to a greater degree than either of us would care to think about. So please, no monosyllabic responses."

Kakashi sighed dismally. Not like his night could get any worse. "I'll make an effort."

"You better damn well do better than that," she growled in reply. "And you better have your ass in here at a decent hour tomorrow." She ended the call and switched lines on her phone. "Shizune?"

"Yes, ma'am?" A younger woman's voice emitted from the machine.

"I'm sending you contact info for a couple of magazines. Tell them Hatake accepts and find the earliest time they can get him in there so he can't find a way to get out of it."

"Gotcha."

The line clicked off, signaling Shizune's hanging up. Tsunade rubbed at her temple. That man was irritating to an infinite degree. If she had not personally known his parents, there would be no way on earth that she would deal with such a client. But, considering he had nearly grown up as her adopted son, she did and so she dealt with it.

Maybe she would consider taking a higher percentage out of his paycheck. It was only fair after all.

—**xoxo**

"You did _what_?"

Sakura could not help but grin at the chorused words. Yes, even she could sink that low. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and all that jazz.

"It went to a trashy tabloid, nothing major."

Tenten groaned into her hands. She was not friends with this person. Period. Ino, on the other hand, looked more than mildly interested. "That's low, but cool! Do you think you can get in this way?"

A wicked smile caught Sakura's lips gleefully. "I just happen to have learned enough Italian cooking to be considered good. And who can't clean or make a bed?"

"So, you got contact with that actor's cook, got her drunk enough to spill some stuff to you, wrote an article about how Kakashi's been complaining about her recently, and now you're looking to replace her as his personal chef slash maid," Tenten ticked off the points on her fingers. Golden brown orbs bored into jade green. "Do you honestly believe this will work?"

"I've got contacts."

"That will get you how far?"

Ino shrugged and interjected before the other woman could. "She's got some pretty decent cards up her sleeve, don't write it off just yet." She held up her glass and grinned widely, exposing a perfect set of pearly whites, "If you get in, I want details."

Sakura mirrored her smile and clinked her glass against the blond's. "Sure."

Tenten sighed before joining the other's antics. "Don't leave me out."

They laughed as the cups met noisily. "Cheers!"

—**xoxo**

**A/N: **First off—apologies for not having posted anything in forever—if anyone bothers to keep tabs on my writing still. There's easily a half-dozen stories that I've started, but they haven't really worked for me, so maybe I'll post them as drabbles later if y'all are interested.

Secondly, cheers for a maskless Kakashi!!!! =D (evil laughter) It's interesting not having to include that in his description.... And no medical stuff for Sakura! Actually... I kind of miss that already, but w/e.

If you liked this, do let me know. I'm always open for opinions and critiques. =]


	2. Be Careful What You Wish For

**: Fame Addiction :**

by Shadow of Illusion

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter. =P

**WARNING!:** Language. And... T rated stuff. Later.

**Brief A/N:** Bleh... I hate getting the flu. But here's part 2—as this is supposed to be a short story, stuff will be moving _quickly_. Just fyi.

* * *

**: Be Careful What You Wish For :**

_Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence. ~Benjamin Haydon_

A thin sheet of gray rain drizzled down upon Konoha's busy streets creating massive puddles in the most inconvenient places. Kakashi was certain of this fact as he resignedly continued to trudge towards the building that happened to house his manager, the entire right side of his trench coat sodden from a careless taxi passing him by. Maybe walking to the meeting wasn't his best idea ever. Shrinking further into his trench coat, he increased his pace.

His dark eyes glared without a single trace of sympathy at the various photographers hiding in odd places up and down the street. Well, after all, misery does love company. Kakashi figured that if he had to be soaking wet, it served them right to be suffering the same hideous weather.

The steady click of shutters going off could still be heard over the rain, the monotonous sounds fast wearing on what little remained of his self-control. Kakashi grit his teeth and forced himself to keep moving, his dark dress shoes clicking loudly against the pavement. A bright yellow flash indicating a taxi caused the man to pause, raising one arm in a silent plea to beckon it.

"Thank God," he sighed fervently as the glaring red brake lights confirmed that it had stopped. He had never bothered with keeping a personal chauffeur, but the idea seemed to be becoming more and more pleasing. Anything to avoid the shutterbugs.

His long strides carried him over to the car in a matter of seconds. Opening the door, he quickly slid in.

"Where to, Mister?"

He looked up, mildly surprised at the pleasant quality of the voice. "Just drive three blocks down, I'll let you know when to stop."

"All right." The woman grinned at him, her laughing green eyes visible in the rear-view mirror.

Kakashi slumped back in his seat, turning his gaze to the rain-splattered window. Of all the days...

"Do you mind music?"

"Hm? Ah, no, feel free." The second his assenting words were vocalized, a soothing jazz number filled the car's interior.

"So, pardon me asking, but why would you want to walk anywhere in this weather?" He could see his own dark eyes staring in the small mirror's reflection, narrowing at her inquiry. He really needed to loosen up. Taking out his favorite paperback might cause him to miss his stop, however, so chatting with the woman would have to do.

"Well, you see," he began, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the seat next to him, "I have this crazy boss who decided I needed to show up today. Early. So, instead of waiting in this traffic, I decided walking would be faster."

"_Uh-huh_..."

"Don't believe me?"

Cat-like green eyes slid to look at his briefly before turning back to the road, "If you ask me, it's more like you wanted to take your time getting over there, and if you showed up wet and pitiful looking—she might feel sorry for you and postpone whatever you didn't want to do."

Kakashi couldn't help but grin sheepishly. "That obvious?"

"Yep." She grinned again, and Kakashi noticed how it lit up her entire face. Smacking himself mentally, he turned his gaze back to the gray drizzle.

"So... what's a pretty girl like you doing driving a cab for a living?"

"If that's a pick-up line, I've heard better." She narrowed her gaze, obviously displeased.

He grinned, "Didn't work?"

She frowned pointedly, and he back-tracked with a placatory reply. "That wasn't what I meant. I just figured you'd be into acting or Broadway."

"No luck." She braked, easing into a stop as the light turned red. "I'm just doing a favor for someone today."

Favor, huh? "What do you usually do?"

She winked, "Housework."

Kakashi stared at her. "Housework?"

"Uh-huh. My mom made me like keeping things neat and orderly, maybe it's an OCD thing or whatever, but for me—it's fun."

"So, you're like a maid?" Maybe there was such a thing as heaven-sent blessings.

"Something like that."

His eyes narrowed in mild annoyance as Tsunade's company building loomed forebodingly on the right. "Currently employed?"

She sighed, green eyes dulling slightly. "No. My last employer went to Europe, so I've been doing odd jobs to pay the bills."

Heaven-sent indeed. Maybe this would spare him having to interview thousands of crazy fans to find someone that actually wanted the job for the job itself. "Here's my stop." Noting the amount due, Kakashi dug into his pocket for his wallet and produced a small wad of bills. "Keep the change."

Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the bundle, her gaze turning questioningly to his as she held up a small business card placed in the middle. "What's this?"

"I'm currently in need of a maid." He patted at his pockets, looking for the irritating cell phone that had just decided to go off. "If you feel up to it, give me a call."

She grinned and he mirrored her action. "Thanks, I'll do that."

He waved and slid out of the car, flicking open the cell. "Yo. ...I'm outside actually.

"No, hell hasn't frozen over. Not that I know of, anyway. ...All right." Folding it closed, he slipped it back into his pocket and trudged inside, his ever-present slouch indicative of his reticence in entering.

It was an extremely good thing for Sakura that he hadn't turned around to look at the cab again. She fisted her hands and cheered animatedly. "Score!"

—**xoxo**

The store's bell jingled merrily, a stark contrast to the lightning and rain hurling outside. The blond woman behind the counter looked up from her flower arrangement and smiled. "Hi, can I help you—_Sakura_?"

Standing there, dripping all over the forest green entry mat, stood her best friend since childhood. Pushing straggles of sopping wet pink strands out of her equally wet face, she grinned and flashed Ino a victory sign. "I've got the job!"

Ino's jaw dropped, for once completely wordless. "You serious? How'd you manage that, and so quickly?"

"It's called having the 'gift'."

"I'd say more like insanely crazy luck." She reached under the counter for the small stack of ever-present towels and flung one towards the woman. "Does anybody believe in umbrellas anymore? _Geez_, you're gonna catch pneumonia or something!"

Sakura rubbed at her dripping locks and hoped her nose wouldn't end up dripping as well. She needed to impress her soon-to-be new employer.

"So, how'd you manage this case?" The blond woman leaned on the counter, blue eyes boring into Sakura's, curiosity written all over her face.

"_Weeell_..." she drawled.

"Cut the crap and spit it out!"

Sakura held up her hands to appease her friend, "Okay, okay. You know how Lee owed me a favor?"

Ino wrinkled her nose. "You mean that unibrow weirdo?"

"Be nice!" She scolded while trying to wring some of the wetness out of her clothing, "He's a decent guy!"

"Sakura, _obsessed _is more like it. He's been trying to date you since college." The blond rubbed at her face, as if trying to banish some unpleasant memory.

"Anyway," she stressed, "I told him that I wanted to borrow his taxi for the day." "Why?"

Cat eyes flashed and her mouth quirked into a secretive grin, "Great way to pick up stories."

Ino pinched the bridge of her nose, attempting to ward off a migraine. "Okay, so you're telling me that you just happened to call in a favor on the right day, and get a job from your newest target?" Blue eyes narrowed into slits as she drummed her manicured nails against the counter-top, "Why do I feel as though you're conveniently leaving something out."

Sakura shrugged innocently at the implication. However, the blond was determined, and Sakura really didn't feel like being kicked out into the wetness. The flower shop was a nice place to be at the moment, despite aggravating pigs masquerading as best friends. "I might have tipped off some paparazzi too."

"Are you for real?" Ino stared at her best friend, thrown by the other woman's craftiness. "Why the hell didn't you join the police or something! That sort of stuff is like super complicated, and you still pulled it off!"

The roseate-haired woman grinned before leaning against the wall nearest the counter. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if I hadn't met Carmina. She pretty much gave me everything I needed. Mr. Hatake should really treat his employees better, or pay them to keep their mouths shut."

"It sounded like her pride was hurt more than anything else." Ino stated blandly, having already heard most of Carmina's rant from Sakura.

She fiddled with the petals of a rose from an arrangement Ino had been working on, "Ah, but pride's often the worse thing to be hurt, and horribly difficult to assuage."

"You're giving me a headache, Forehead." The blue-eyed woman complained loudly, clamping her hands over her ears dramatically.

"I guess I short-circuited your brain, Pig."

Ino growled but had to call for a ceasefire as a customer entered. Sakura grinned to herself as she watched her friend paste a welcoming smile over the frown and helped the man select a bouquet. Really, she couldn't afford to tick the girl off just yet, as she still had a favor to ask.

After all, borrowing someone else's identity was still ranked as a huge IOU in both their books.

—**xoxo**

Tsunade sat pensively at her desk, nails drumming a steady beat on the highly polished cherry wood's surface. Her office was empty at the moment, plush leather chairs for once devoid of their typically numerous occupants. Tiffany lamps, ensconced safely in the corners of the room to avoid mishaps with more brash or aggravated clients, winked in multicolored cheer.

It was a shame she couldn't emulate the mood emitting from the objects. Her day hadn't even been that bad, Kakashi had shown up before evening hours, had most agreeably signed every document she had thrown at him—even the one that increased her paycheck, though she had noted his slight pause before signing.

She figured that he knew she deserved every penny she got from him.

Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Inhaling deeply, she exhaled in a sigh of frustration. Who knows, who cares, right? As long as he behaved, she shouldn't give a damn as to the why's. It was just better that way.

She was half-tempted to call the man, just to ensure that he wasn't up to any devious shenanigans that might manage to cancel his newly signed agreements with the two magazines. The only thing that kept her from pressing the oft-dialed numbers was the fact that he hadn't seemed like he had plans on getting out of the interview. Instead, he had seemed... well, resigned would be the word she'd use.

Had something happened to make him see the light? She snorted and shook her head, causing long strands of blond to fly about with the movement. Amber eyes glinted in the dim light, bemused by the very notion.

No matter. As long as he showed up for the cover shots, then she needn't devote any more thought time to this.

A quiet knock sounded on her office door, startling the woman into jarring a stack of papers, nearly sending the towering mess to the floor.

"What?" she barked.

"Um, I just thought you might want to see this." Shizune entered, a tabloid held up for her boss's inspection.

A thin blond brow quirked upwards in annoyance. "Why on earth would I look at trash?"

"The subject of the headline's article, ma'am."

Tsunade griped inwardly, but held out her hand for the offending trash. "Who is it this time? My clients have done well about keeping their noses clean this past month, no one should..." The woman trailed off as she read. Her eyes narrowed as understanding suddenly dawned.

That's why Kakashi hadn't put up a fuss. He finally understood that the press would get something out of him no matter how much he hid. Though, she had to hand it to him, he did possess an amazing knack of staying out of print.

Someone had out-foxed him, and she was inclined to find out who. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, she mused. Last thing she needed was an upstart reporter getting their teeth into anything Hatake hid.

Her eyes scanned the article once more before shoving it into a random drawer. Clever writing for all that it was printed in a tabloid. Apparently, the article had been "donated" by an anonymous source.

As connected as she was with the media, even this sort, she could tell who was good and who was simply mediocre. This person was good. And new. The writing style was vaguely familiar, but Tsunade couldn't place her finger on it.

No matter, for now she would just make sure to keep tabs on Hatake to make sure nothing else, and nothing worse, ended up making headlines. Perhaps she should encourage the other stars under her management to shine a little brighter. The Hyuuga boy should be coming into his own now, she thought, waving Shizune away with a absent-minded motion. A little extra time with the media would be more than advantageous.

—**xoxo**

Sakura dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. "Stupid elevator! Much as they wanna charge for the freakin' rent, you'd think they could keep it repaired!" One more flight. Just one more flight and she'd be home.

The woman growled as she hauled her damp self up the stairs to the fifth floor. After a long day, the last thing she needed was to have to endure torture. As far as she was concerned, taking the stairs was the most miserable exercise in existence. Especially when one was wet, bedraggled, and now freezing thanks to the marvelous air conditioning the apartment building provided.

At least everything had worked out amazingly well today, she consoled herself. That, in and of itself, was a fortuitous miracle. She had been prepared, thanks to the scanty information given to her by the Italian woman, to stake out that street for the next two weeks to catch him. Now, she shoved the key into her apartment's door and twisted it, all she had to do was explain to Sasuke why she'd be gone for whatever length of time.

She blinked at the sudden darkness. A small sigh excited her lips as she wrenched the key from the doorknob and slammed the door shut with a quick maneuver of her boot. She had forgotten. Today was Wednesday, and Sasuke would be out with his band.

Ah, the unfortunate downside to dating a popular lead singer, she moped as she headed towards the bedroom. Band practices. They were great at first, exciting even—but everything loses a certain charm after enough time.

Besides, she really wasn't into rock enough to endure hours of practice.

Leaving her drenched clothing in a wet heap on the floor, she pillaged his side of the dresser for a warm shirt. She unearthed a hoodie with a victorious cry and slipped it on. Turning, she decided catching a cat nap would do her a world of good. There was much plotting and planning to be done, she needed a clear head and plenty of energy to prepare her plan.

Flopping onto the bed, she heard something hit the floor with a soft clatter. She groaned and moved to turn on the nightstand's lamp. Sakura peered over the side of the bed, eyes squinting from the sudden light.

A plastic card holder reflected the light, and as she reached for it, she read the large words: Backstage Pass. She giggled and set it on the small space by the lamp. Definitely a feel good moment. She'd have to write something nice about their band now, she decided, sleep creeping into her consciousness.

—**xoxo**

**A/N: **Ah... will Sakura's luck continue? (_cue evil laughter_) Probably not, considering how real life works. You win some, you lose some. Well, more like you lose more than you win, but w/e, right?

Oh, and on the rock band idea—I suppose I have to blame an illustration I saw of Team 7 as a band. =] It seemed to work for this, so the plot bunny ran with it at full speed. (_lopsided grin_)

**N**ext **c**hapter: _Woes of a Journalist...er, Maid!_


End file.
